What a glorious Monday morning. ….

What a glorious Monday morning. The sun was shining on the new snow and the trees were sparkling in the wind which makes it just dandy. I told Jackie and Sue that when I drove over Bear Creek and Rock Creek on Highway 98, it reminded me of southern Idaho at Christmas time in 1951.

But that can wait, as I need to tell you about my Thanksgiving. In talking to Sue a few days before, she said she was looking forward to coming up, as she expected we got more snow than they did.

So when I looked out Thursday morning and noticed our front yard trees and the neighbors across the street were still hanging full of snow, I thought, Sue will enjoy the Winter Wonderland.

Then I got in the car and headed north on K to pick up Shelly in Colby but the trees were bare. I thought, oh shucks! When I got to Colby and took a look at the trees from a different angle, they were all covered, so there was Winter Wonderland back again. I guess you could blame it on the snow all coming from the northeast when it snowed.

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Shelly and I got to Bob and Jackie’s and I sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee and gazed out at the snow-covered field north of their house. As I looked, I noticed something moving in the woods next to the field. Then a deer popped out. In a few seconds another one came, then the third and the fourth and they just kept coming. Somehow, Bob Loos and I came up with between seven and eleven. Anyway it was quite a sight.

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At that point I thought it was a pretty nice Thanksgiving. But there was more to come. About a month before, Sue had mentioned that maybe her son Will would be able to get off and make it home. I kept forgetting to ask her, so when Sue and her husband Mark came, I wasn’t expecting another person. I was so excited I couldn’t tell if it was captain/doctor Will or doctor/ captain Will, who is now working at the Children’s Hospital in Seattle.

Let me tell you there were a few other people just as happy or happier than I was. Just call them tears of joy. Meanwhile, I remember Will telling me it was officially Captain William Hayman, MD. But for the day, we forgot the formality, as he was just plain Will to all of us.

For a minute I thought maybe we shouldn’t be so happy, but quickly I remembered that Florence was watching us from heaven as we celebrated another holiday without her.

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It was nice to also get an answer to a question I had about the old baseball field and team at Pipe Lake. Jo Elmer said she had shown my column to her dad and he confessed that one of his jobs as a young kid was to clean up the cow pies before the game. I don’t suppose he got an official title, like chief groundskeeper or something of that sort but those were the days when it didn’t take much to keep us entertained.

Jo said her dad has been busy making firewood from all the trees that were blown down in the tornado this summer.

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Meanwhile, my friend Manley, writes that there is a down side to moving on to another decade in life. He should know, as he made the move a few months ago. See, I told you he was a year ahead of me in school.

He told me the YMCA is no longer inviting him to the octogenarian dinners.

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As a former newspaperman, I should think I would know just about everything that is going on in the community. Not so, as last week’s TRG had a story that I knew nothing about and one that is just another of those happy things people seem to make happen here.

Sadly, it took the death of five-year-old Lincoln Schrock to prompt his parents into building a playground in his honor.

The park of their choosing is the Westside Park, also known as the Westside Community Park.

There was a bit of conflict going on at the time the park started when the Federal Land Bank wanted to buy the old water tower lot for an office building. There were some hard feelings, as some wanted it to remain a park. As a result, we got two parks, the Westside park and the Purple Park, which I guess the little kids named because of its purple playground equipment.

At the same time as this was in the air, the Clark County Forestry and Parks Department had plans to build a dayuse only park and together the city and county got together and purchased the land. The county built a shelter and planted numerous trees while the city and community built a concession stand/ restrooms and a softball field. At one time the county had thoughts of a water slide, but that never materialized.

So many people from the whole Loyal community, not just the city, donated time and money to see it to completion. So the Community Park name was very fitting.

The county Forestry and Parks Department decided day-parks were just in their plan, so offered it to the city for one dollar. Thus we have a great new park and next to the school, with its athletic field and the golf course, has made the area into a great park for the public to use.

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The other big news this week is my thumb. I hurt it. With eight fingers and two thumbs, who would think hurting one wouldn’t make a difference. Do you realize how many times in a day you use your thumb? It even bothered brushing my teeth and don’t try turning the knob to make the lights come on. It makes it hurt again.

It didn’t get hurt by some dumb accident either, but in a kind of a good housekeeping maneuver. Bob Loos had been kind enough one day to carry our Christmas tree up. Actually I suspect it was Jackie ordering him to carry it up for me. Anyway, as generally happens, an ornament fell off. When I was going to the basement a day or so later, I happened to see this broken on the steps and thought I’d pick it up and throw it away.

Well, I got it picked up alright, but sticking right in my thumb. There I stood on the stair steps. One hand on the the railing and the blood dripping from the cut on the other and the ornament still attached.

I thought I got all the glass out, but a few days later the thumb still hurts and is always in the way. It even bothers when I try to write. Maybe I can use it as an excuse not to pay any bills.

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Just room enough to bring you a few history highlights. On Dec. 1, 1959, the United States, along with 11 other nations, signed a treaty to make Antarctica a military free continent. I didn’t know that, did you?

In 1982, the first successful heart transplant was completed and on Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st amendment passed to end prohibition. On Dec. 6, 1884, workmen completed the Washington Monument.

Then came Dec. 7, 1941, and the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and World War II began.